Your Special Child - February 2008

Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates

By Amy Landsman
When you talk to the leaders of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates
(COPAA), the one phrase that keeps coming up is “level the playing field.”
Here’s just one example: “COPAA’s main mission is to level the playing field
for parents, through access to resources, information, and to this network of
professionals,” says Denise Marshall, executive director of COPAA.
A nonprofit organization, COPAA is made up of lawyers, special education
consultants, psychologists, reading tutors, other educational professionals,
and ordinary parents determined to—here’s that phrase again—level
the playing field between families and schools.
Not only are many COPAA members lawyers, but many are also parents of children
with disabilities themselves, so they have a passionate interest in special
education law.
Although COPAA is based in Towson, much of its work takes place in cyberspace,
as members nationwide share ideas and strategies. In many ways, COPAA is a
lifeline for families as they try to navigate a complex system.
“I think what parents aren’t prepared for is how complicated the special
education system is. It requires learning a lot about the system, which some
parents are able to do on their own…and some families need advocacy in the
process,” says Leslie Margolis, a COPAA board member.
In the public schools, students with disabilities have Individual Education
Plans, known as IEPs. These legal documents spell out the annual educational
goals for the child. They also specify how those goals will be achieved.
The IEP details are worked out in a team meeting, usually attended by the
child’s parents, teachers, therapists, and other interested professionals.
In theory, the parents and professionals meet as equals.
In truth, however, there’s a terrible “imbalance of power,” says Jessica
Butler, COPAA board chairman.
“A parent comes to the IEP table surrounded by specialists, and that’s an
incredibly intimidating situation,” Butler says.
“There is nothing as humbling as sitting in the parent chair…It’s difficult to
hear about all the things your child can’t do,” notes Selene Almazan, a COPAA
board member..
“It should be a much more collaborative process. Our primary goal is to have
school districts and parents collaborate as equals,” Butler adds.

Learning the LawHow does COPAA achieve that goal? The
organization can’t send an attorney to sit by every parent’s side at each team
meeting. (There is, however, a directory of lawyers and advocates with
expertise in special education on COPAA’s website.) Instead, COPAA members
share information about special education law. The idea is that the more
lawyers and families know about special education law, the better able they’ll
be to advocate on behalf of kids.
Most disputes between families and schools are resolved without an attorney,
and those where a lawyer is on board are generally settled before a trial. But
there’s always the chance the case will go before a judge. In those instances,
COPAA wants to make sure the family’s attorney is as prepared as possible.
“If an attorney is under-prepared or doesn’t know the law, and a precedent is
set, it hurts the community as a whole,” Butler explains.
The community of lawyers and advocates who represent children with disabilities
has really grown since COPAA’s founding in 1988.
“When I first joined COPAA, there was one attorney in Utah. There was one in
Nevada. There was no one in Kansas City,” Butler says. “We now have attorneys
and advocates in those states. Maryland has a lot of attorneys, but there are
gaps. Low-income families have little access to representation, and the more
rural parts of the state have fewer attorneys with the expertise in special ed
law.”
In addition, COPAA adds its voice when Congress considers legislation
protecting the educational and civil rights of children with disabilities. It
also files “friend of the court” briefs on legal cases that could impact a wide
group of families.
Members of COPAA emphasize that they are not seeking special privileges for
kids with disabilities. Instead, they are fighting for basic rights to which
the children are entitled, such as ending the use of restraints, moving kids
out of self-contained classrooms, achieving reading goals, and receiving speech
and language services.
In a perfect world, there would be mutual cooperation between families and
schools.
But, as Butler says, the real world doesn’t work that way. For now, the playing
field remains unequal.
“My goal would be eliminating COPAA in 10 years because every child had access
to a free, appropriate public education. But unfortunately that’s not really
going to happen. Too many parents are stonewalled. Too many parents can’t get
what their children need to have maximum independence by the time they’re 21,”
Butler says. BC

To learn more about the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA),
visit its website, www.copaa.org, or call 410-372-0208.